Smith and Wesson Model 696 MA Revolver
“A human-made weapon meant for human hands, before alien technology forced us to change our line of thinking..." - Master Chief Petty Officer Stacy Valentino The Smith and Wesson Model 696 Mass Accelerator Revolver is a pre-Mars Archives firearm developed during the Resource Wars during the early 22nd Century on Earth. Colloquially known as 'the Hogleg' or 'the Mammothkiller', the Model 696 was developed by the Smith and Wesson Arms Manufacturing Company to crack through the latest personal and vehicular armors of its age when synthetic metals and plastics had advanced to the point that chemically-propelled ballistic weaponry was rendered ineffective. The Model 696 delivers a 12.5 gram slug at velocities of a percent of percent of the speed of light through the use of magnetic acceleration rails, the round 'launched' when pushed forward by drawing the magnetically polar opposing hammer back and pulling the trigger to push the slug into the mass driving barrel to fire the weapon. Capable of delivering over three kiloJoules of kinetic energy upon its target, the Model 696 saw high popularity in its limited production run as its hundreds of models were delivered to special forces warriors in the old United States Armed Forces. The Model was only produced for three years, as the weapon was proven to be both devastating against personnel and lightly-armored vehicles, but an employee is the company was selling Models on the side to private owners and espionage agents, hundreds being unaccounted for. One such Model 696 was responsible for the death of the old United Nations Secretary General in 2126, and the political backlash had Smith and Wesson discontinue the line for something less powerful. After the First Contact War in 2157 and the Systems Alliance signing of the Treaty of Farixen to prevent further hostilities with the Turian Hierarchy, mass-driven and mass-accelerated weaponry were banned through the Treaty as hundreds of thousands of weapons were either converted to Mass Effect-property weapons, or destroyed. As the old United States of America was one of the few intraglobal nations in which the public citizen was allowed to own firearms, thousands upon thousands of models of old MD and MA weapons survived the purge of Old Tech, being traded or sold in human-ran black markets by those who didn't trust alien innovations, weaponry, or interference. One of the many weapons lost to the Treaty was the Mammothkiller as weapons manufacturers updates their plants and manufacturing means to align weapons towards Citadel-allowed firearms or face severe legal repercussions. Due to the the repercussions of the Resource Wars decades before, the actual number of Model 696's was never known, and many were unaccounted for both legally and illegally. The Model 696 uses six separate heat sinks in a revolver-like cylinder that spins with every draw of the hammer, either by single- or double-action. It utilizes a 325 gram ammo block and a micro-ammo shaver that delivers a 12.5 gram slug with every shot, and has a simple battery to activate its shaver and rails. Because it does not possess any VI software, Smart Targeting Systems, or micro-computer technology, the Model 696 is impossible to hack or disrupt save by actual physical means. It's body is made of Reinforced Steel (ReSteel) and fires Nickel-Iron (NiFe) rounds, leaving a slight blue vapor sprall contrail with every round. Its are old-fashioned blade sights, and the trigger is an old-fashioned curved physical trigger traditional to 'Old West' and 'Old Tech' weaponry. To date, only eight Model 696's are known in existence, having survived the purges and subsequent raids and arrests that netted most pre-Treaty weaponry, each of these having legal documentation for exemption. While there are many chemically-propelled pre-Treaty firearms that are still sought out as the height of human innovation before the inclusion of 'alien' line of thought, the Model 696 holds a near-prestige spot as being one of the most highly-sought firearms due to its power and and reliability. As one of the last high-powered mass-driven weapons and one of the last 'great' human innovations in the terms of absolute firepower, the Model 696 is considered by many as the most powerful handgun ever created. The Model 696's popularity has resurfaced thanks to Alliance Marshal Samantha Collins, the Marshal of Therum carrying a Model 696 during the Batarian Assault on Therum in 2175, the young Marshal gaining the weapon from her former boss, Frontier Marshal Bartholomew Weathers when she arrested him and her entire office in Nova Yekaterinburg for corruption, collusion of slavery, murder, and high treason when she was a Deputy after an investigation of incorrect custom forms led her to a slaver's compound on the planet Revan in the Thermopile System in the Artemis Tau Cluster. That last one known to be sold in a public open market through Christie's was bought at 375 kiloCredits, and rumors of one having been sold in the black markets of the Terminus Sectors was said to have sold at over 600 kiloCredits. In 2179, Smith and Wesson created a clone Treaty-compliant model, known as the Peacemaker. Firearm aficionados have all agreed that the only similarity that the Peacemaker has with the Model 696 is the manufacturing company, calling the Peacemaker its weaker, sadder, little sister. Notable Owners * Alliance Frontier Marshal Bartholomew 'Bart' Weathers, Therum (former, currently incarcerated) * Alliance Federal Marshal Samantha 'Sam' Collins, Citadel * North American Union Texas Ranger Captain Horus Bergman * Major Adam Benson, Black Star Private Military Company Category:Peacemaker Series